Keeper Coins in Unexpected Places

I know this isn’t exactly metal detecting, but … I have a unique source of coin treasures.

I am the pastor of a church. Every summer during our Vacation Bible School for kids, we take up a week-long offering for a missions project. For instance, last summer the kids’ gifts paid for veterinary supplies for a team serving in Peru. This summer, their offerings bought chickens for families in Africa through Samaritan’s Purse. We kind of make it a competition thing … boys against the girls. The kids really get into it. Every day we weigh buckets with their offerings. It’s all in great fun, and all for a great cause. For the past two years the kids gave over $600 to help people in other countries.

A couple of summers ago, I spotted a silver dime in one of the buckets when we made our daily trip to the bank (it has a coin counter … awesome). I quickly grabbed it and dropped a dime out of my pocket into the bucket. I realized that there was truly no telling what these kids were dropping in the buckets each day.

So … since then I have carefully checked these buckets full of change before redeeming them at the bank each day. If I see a coin that’s a keeper, I replace it at face value … after all, that’s all the bank would give us for it.

Over the past three summers I’ve salvaged several collectible US coins and a plethora of foreign coins (even a few Chucky Cheese tokens … aren’t kids great?!!).

Here’s a picture of the keepers. My silvers are on the left, including three war nickels. I’ve found one buff, several wheaties (including two 1943 steels) and many, many pre-1959 Jeffersons.

Pretty cool, huh? And it might get a few of you to volunteer to work in VBS in your churches next year.

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NOOB: Hunting Since 11.24.08 / Garrett GTP 1350 & Pro Pointer / Oldest Coin – 1912 Barber Dime / Silver Coins – 14 / Coin Count – 188/ Clad Total – $14.78 / Ring Count – 5

Permission Granted!

I am completely stoked. I just made a phone call this evening and received permission to hunt one of the oldest yards in my hometown. The house is located on Main Street, and is the first residence “up the hill” from the downtown business district, right next to the “First” Baptist Church. The home on the site now was built in 1920 … which is awesome. But there was an original home from the late 1800’s that burned. The site even has an old grave site in the backyard.

I’m hitting it tomorrow afternoon. We are expecting sunshine and upper 50’s here in Western Kentucky tomorrow.

I expect to invest many hours in this site over the next couple of weeks!

Hunter Homeplace

I went with a friend of mine to hunt his family’s homeplace this afternoon. His family migrated to Trigg County, Kentucky, from Virginia sometime in the mid-1800’s. The family has retained ownership of two acres with the original homeplace and family cemetery.

Here is a picture of the original home site.

The cemetery is very close, just down the hill.

And here is a picture of my finds. Two Lincolns, two buttons, a buckle, and an unidentified “whatzit.” It was a very difficult place to hunt. Lots of junk metal all over the place. And I think the land has been slightly bolldozed.

Here is a close-up of the two buttons. I’m not sure about the one on the left. The button to the right has an elk on it ans says, “Elk Brand.” Interestingly, “Elk Brand,” is a line of clothing, primarily blue jeans, manufactured in this county for most of the 20th century. I assume that the button came off of an old pair of jeans. I’m going to take it by the company offices this week and see if they recognize it.

I would appreciate any help in identifying the button on the left. (Both are 17mm in diameter).

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NOOB: Hunting Since 11.24.08 / Garrett GTP 1350 & Pro Pointer / Oldest Coin – 1912 Barber Dime / Silver Coins – 14 / Coin Count – 183/ Clad Total – $13.83 / Ring Count – 5

Only My Best Day … EVER!

So I woke up this morning hankering to hunt, only I wasn’t sure where to go. I finally decided to hit this humble little yard one more time. (The sweetest little 85-year-old woman lives there, and she loves it when I stop by.)

This little yard has been good to me … it already gave me five silver coins and five wheaties. But I had never hunted it with my new Garrett GTP 1350, so I decided to try one more time. Boy, was I glad.

In a short three hours this yard gifted me with six new silver coins, four Mercury dimes (1919, 1941-D, 1941-S, 1942) and two Washington quarters (1942 & 1954). Unbelievably, the two 1941 Mercs and the 1942 Washington came out of the same hole! And the 1942 Merc and 1954 Washington came out of the same hole! The heavily-worn 1919 came out of its own hole. My Garrett found it even though it was lodged against a large root. The yard also gave me three good Wheat Pennies (1924, 1927, 1944) and another 51 cents in clad. Here is a picture of my finds:

The ring appears to be copper. The silver plated spoon was every bit of ten inches deep in the back yard. Here’s a close-up of the ring.

Altogether, this little yard has yielded eleven silver coins. Unbelievable!

Then, since I was on a “silver high,” I decided to go back out this afternoon. My youngest daughter went with me, and we chose to hunt the tot lot at our local city park (our only city park). The lot is sand, so it is super easy to dig. 29 coins, most of them pennies, and all of them “new” money. But we also found this rockin’ old Matchbox car, and two rings. Here’s a picture of our finds:

The gold-colored ring is not gold. It’s a gum machine quality kid’s ring. But, hey, it’s still a ring. The other one, however, is a beautiful sterling silver rope ring. My kid claimed that one. Here’s a close-up:

Altogether, my day produced 48 coins (six of them silver), three rings (one of them silver), and $1.81 in clad.

Makes me want to go swingin’ again tomorrow!

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NOOB: Hunting Since 11.24.08 / Garrett GTP 1350 & Pro Pointer / Oldest Coin – 1912 Barber Dime / Silver Coins – 14 / Coin Count – 181/ Clad Total – $13.81 / Ring Count – 5

Struck Out on Cordova Baptist Property

I visited the in-laws over the past three days. While I was in Memphis, I got permission to hunt the grounds of Cordova Baptist Church. Here’s a picture:

I served as Youth Pastor at this church from 1990 until 1995 and remain good friends with the pastor. He gave me free run of the place. There has been a church building on this foundation since 1910. Two previous buildings burned. The current facility includes buildings constructed from the 1950’s through the early 1970’s. The church also owns four or five old home sites and a large public park area.

I searched all four and pretty much struck out. Hunted hard for four hours. There is an unbelievable amount of can slaw on the grounds, most about nickel size … and reading as nickels on my MD. Very frustrating. I did not find a single coin along any of the walkways leading to the front of the building, or in the front lawn. It is almost impossible for me to believe that there was never any historical coinage buried in that ground. I can only conclude that it has been well-hunted in previous days.

So much for hunting near a large city. I’ll stick to my little town.

Here is a pic of my whopping finds. 59 cents in clad (the four tarnished pennies came out of the same hole) and a button. I have identified it as a late twentieth century old-lady coat button. Lost in action.

I found the shiny Lincoln this morning on the tot lot across from the in-laws home, in between rain showers this morning. I’ll have to hit that place again when I return.

Hope everyone else has better luck over the holidays.

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NOOB: Hunting Since 11.24.08 / Garrett GTP 1350 & Bounty Hunter Quicksilver / Oldest Coin – 1912 Barber Dime / Silver Coins – 8 / Coin Count – 133/ Clad Total – $12.00 / Ring Count – 2

Cold Saturday Morning Finds – One Wheatie and Some Clad

I went back to the old house on our local school grounds today, this time with my new Garrett GTP 1350.

I hunted hard for about 3 1/2 hours. I guess I pulled the only two silver coins out of the ground the last time. This time my only “historical” find was a 1945 Wheat Cent. Otherwise, I dug 9 quarters, 9 dimes, 9 modern pennies, and one nickel. A total of $3.29 in clad. Most of them are pretty nasty – gonna need some tumbler time.

If only I could have found some more silver … Oh, well, maybe next time.

Here is a pic of my finds, including 7 of those aggravating little “whatzits” that read like a dime every time I find one.

I’m visiting the in-laws Monday and Tuesday in the Memphis area. I got permission to hunt an old church while I’m there. Counting on a little silver coinage from that one … I hope.

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NOOB: Hunting Since 11.24.08 / Garrett GTP 1350 & Bounty Hunter Quicksilver / Oldest Coin – 1912 Barber Dime / Silver Coins – 8 / Coin Count – 124/ Clad Total – $11.40 / Ring Count – 2

Canton Gunboat -vs- Cavalry Skirmish

I’ve been doing some research on Civil War activity in my county. It’s hard to believe that there was so little, since I live in a Kentucky county that borders Tennessee and Forts Henry and Donelson are just a few miles to the southwest.

However, I have discovered information on a brief battle/skirmish that occurred along the Cumberland River at a village called Canton. In the days of the Civil War, Canton was something of a boom-town because of its port on the Cumberland. Here is a map with a couple of key locations:

The battle took place on or around November 20, 1861. It involved troops led by Nathan Bedford Forrest who engaged a sidewheel “timberclad” gunboat, theUSS Conestoga, which was involved in many battles and skirmishes along the rivers of the south. Here is a picture of the ship.

Kentucky Historical Marker #619, located on the side of Nwy. 68 in canton, reads, “CSA General Nathan Bedford Forrest with 6 cavalry companies joined Gen. Charles Clark, Nov. 15, 1861, at Hopkinsville. On reconnaissance learned of USA gunboat Conestoga’s intent to destroy CSA supplies at Canton. They met here November 20 in 7 hours of ship-to-shore combat. Conestoga left. Forrest’s command had stood ground well, first time under fire.”

It seems that the previous account is more from a Confederate perspective. The logs from the Conestoga are a bit different. They list the date of the battle as November 18, 1861, and have little detail. It reads, “U.S.S. Conestoga, Lieutenant S. L. Phelps, on expedition up Cumberland River, dispersed Confederate forces and silenced battery at Canton, Kentucky.“

I wonder which account is true.

Anyhow … this afternoon I hunted for three hours along the bluffs just to the north of the Hwy. 68 bridge (see map) with the landowner – a friend of mine named Mark. As you can tell from the map, the terrain has changed rather dramatically since the TVA dammed the Cumberland river to create Lake Barkley. (I’ve tried to approximate the original river channel – it may, actually, lie further out from the modern shore.)

It was tough hunting. Lots of trash and false signals. I did hit a strong signal and pulled an old jar lid out of the ground. I pretty much demolished the spot looking for a potential jar full of loot. But there was none.

However, along one of the bluffs, about three feet down from the top, I hit a good signal and dug my first actual lead bullet out of the ground. By its size it is clearly a very large slug. It’s pretty much squashed because of all of the rock in the ground at this location. It’s the only one either of us found, though. Must have been a stray round that found it’s way so far north.

In talking to Mark I discovered that the original port was on the south side of the modern highway (see map). I just happen to know a couple who owns sever acres on that bluff, but I am afraid that any relics there may be lost. Mark told me that the original owners bulldozed that property (including several large Indian mounds) over the side of the bluff into the river back in the 1960’s. But I will hit the spot anyway.

Sorry for the “novel,” but I wanted to share the research on a truly interesting spot. It’s cool to know that I dug a slug that was fired in that battle, and even know the approximate date.

Here’s a picture of the smashed slug and another unidentified item. Maybe someone will be able to tell me what it is.

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NOOB: Hunting Since 11.24.08 / Garrett GTP 1350 & Bounty Hunter Quicksilver / Oldest Coin – 1912 Barber Dime / Silver Coins – 8 / Coin Count – 124/ Clad Total – $11.40 / Ring Count – 2

My First Merc!

It’s cloudy and cold in Western Kentucky. We still have a little sleet/snow on the ground, but everything is starting to melt. I caught temperatures around forty degrees, so I donned my coveralls and headed out to hunt a new site.

I spent about 2 1/2 working the yard of this house. It lies on Main Street in my hometown. It’s actually owned by the school system and used for one of their office buildings. I’m not sure of the year of construction, but it looks to me like maybe the 1920’s, if not sooner.

I was getting a bit frustrated with all clad. I was sure that this yard should be holding some silver. Then I hit a good signal along the near side (photo) of the walkway. I did the happy dance when I pulled my first Mercury Dime (1940-S) out of the ground. A short time later I found a 1944 Washington Quarter near a large tree (left side of photo). Here’s the silver.

And here is my overall take, including $1.58 in clad and a brand new torch lighter.

I’m not sure what the four thingies at the top of the picture are.

Altogether an AWESOME 2 1/2 hours … despite the snow, mud, and cold. Can’t think of anything else I’d rather do.

New Machine on the Way!

I’ve gotten the go-ahead from the wife to use my Christmas bonus cash to buy me an upgrade … which is a huge deal, considering I’ve only been swinging for about a month with my little Bounty Hunter.

But as soon as she gave affirmation, I was on the phone. Found this sweet deal from Kellyco, with lots of extras. It’s a Garrett GTP 1350.  Hope to have it under my tree by Christmas.

Keeping Up With Statistics

Hunting Since 11.24.08 / Bounty Hunter Quicksilver / Oldest Coin – 1912 Barber Dime / Silver Coins – 6 / Coin Count – 73 / Clad Total – $6.51 / Ring Count – 2

I have these statistics on my signature over at the Friendly Metal Detector Forum.  I’ve decided to add this “signature” to the beginning of each of my posts.  With each hunt I will update my totals.  This will allow me to track finds over time.